urban action

Week of Open Doors to Rijeka’s Architectural Heritage

2012 / Downtown

There is a whole series of buildings in Rijeka architectural heritage which, in the historical stratification of the city and the wider area, have their historical, aesthetic, cultural, and scientific and/or landscape value, but that cannot be easily reached by citizens and tourists.

The most common areas of these buildings get occupied by commercial, religious, or other functions that would be disrupted in case a larger number of visitors appear. Also, it is often that a building is inaccessible to potential users because its state is that of complete disrepair. One example of such a monumental building is the administrative building of the former sugar refinery whose valuable interior is completely hidden from the public eye. There are also the following monumental buildings: the refectory of the Franciscan monastery, lapidary and Kosi toranj (Leaning Tower) of Church of Ascension of St. Mary the Virgin, the ex Municipal Building, City Tower, some of the spaces in the Governor's Palace and the Teatro Fenice, public basin Brajda etc.

The basic intention of this urban action is contained in the idea that conditions should be provided to enable unhindered viewing of these buildings, at least on temporary basis of one week per year.

An Urban Action entitled Week of Open Doors to Rijeka’s Architectural Heritage was exposed in Zagreb in 2012, on the 47th ZagrebSalon (national exhibition of achievements in architecture and urban planning).

Perhaps the main organizer of the proposed urban action could be Turistička zajednica Rijeka (Rijeka Tourist Board).